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19 November 2008 New Zealand
A new Government was sworn in under Prime Minister John Key. Key’s New Zealand National Party had, with 45.5% of votes cast, won 59 of the 122 seats in the House of Representatives at a general election held on 8 November, thus defeating the New Zealand Labour Party, led by Helen Clark (the Prime Minister since 1999), which, with 33.8%, held 43 seats. In the absence of an overall majority of parliamentary seats for his party, Key formed an alliance with ACT New Zealand, United Future New Zealand and the Maori Party, allocating five ministerial portfolios (outside Cabinet) to members of these parties. Senior appointees within the new Cabinet included Bill English as Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Finance and Minister of Infrastructure; Gerry Brownlee as Minister for Economic Development and Minister of Energy and Resources; and Simon Power as Minister of Justice, Minister for State-owned Enterprises and Minister of Commerce.
4 November 2008 United States of America
Barack Obama, the Democratic candidate, won a decisive victory over Republican John McCain in the presidential election, securing 364 of the 538 electoral college votes and some 52.5% of popular votes cast, according to preliminary figures. In concurrent legislative elections the Democrats increased their representation in both houses of Congress: the party was expected to hold 55 of the 100 seats in the Senate (thereby acquiring an overall majority) and at least 255 of the 435 seats in the House of Representatives. Obama, who was to be the first black President of the USA, was scheduled to be inaugurated on 20 January 2009, upon the expiry of the second four-year term of the Republican incumbent, George W. Bush.
28 October 2008 Maldives
At a second round of voting for the country’s first popularly elected President, the incumbent Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, leader of the Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party, was decisively defeated by the candidate of the Maldivian Democratic Party, Mohamed Nasheed, who secured 54.2% of votes cast. Gayoom had held the presidency since 1978. None of the six candidates at a first round of voting, held on 8 October 2008, had secured an outright majority, necessitating a run-off between the first- and second-placed (respectively Gayoom, with 40.3% of votes cast, and Nasheed, with 24.9%). Some 86% of the eligible electorate participated in the second round. The election took place under the terms of a new Constitution, ratified by President Gayoom in August, which provides, inter alia, for the direct election of the head of state and the restriction of the presidential mandate to two terms of office. The new head of state took office on 11 November.
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14 October 2008 Canada
The Conservative Party, led by Prime Minister Stephen Harper, was re-elected to form the country’s third minority government in four years. According to preliminary results of the early general election, the party won 143 of the 308 seats in the House of Commons, with 37.6% of votes cast, thereby increasing its representation by 16 seats but failing to secure an overall majority. The Liberal Party won 76 seats, with 26.2% of votes cast. Voters in Québec elected 50 members of the Bloc Québécois to parliament. The New Democratic Party secured 37 seats. Turn-out was relatively low, at 59.1% the registered electorate.
28 September 2008 Austria
At an early general election the Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ), under the leadership of newly elected party Chairman Werner Faymann, retained its status as the largest party in the 183-seat Nationalrat, winning 57 seats with 29.3% of the valid votes cast. Its partner in the previous governing coalition, the Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP), obtained 51 seats, with 26.0% of the vote. In contrast to the loss of support for both the SPÖ and ÖVP since the previous election (held in October 2006), significant gains were recorded by two right-wing populist parties: the Freedom Party of Austria won 34 seats, with 17.5% of the votes cast, while the Alliance for the Future of Austria took 21 seats, with 10.7%. The Greens, meanwhile, secured 20 seats, with 10.4%. The rate of participation was recorded at 78.9% of eligible voters. Under the terms of legislation promulgated in 2007, the franchise was extended to those aged 16 years and above; additionally, the parliamentary term was to be extended from four years to five. On 29 September the outgoing Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, Wilhelm Molterer, resigned as leader of the ÖVP; the Minister for Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management, Josef Pröll, was subsequently appointed as acting party leader. On 21 October the SPÖ and ÖVP commenced negotiations with a view to renewing the ‘grand coalition’ Government.
25 September 2008 South Africa
Kgalema Motlanthe, the Deputy President of the African National Congress of South Africa (ANC), was sworn in as head of state, following the resignation of President Thabo Mbeki. Mbeki, the President since 1999, had announced his intention to step down on 21 September, as a consequence of the High Court’s dismissal of corruption charges against Jacob Zuma (who had replaced Mbeki as ANC President in December 2007); the Court ruled that that there was evidence of political interference in the investigation of Zuma’s activities. On assuming the presidency, Motlanthe installed a new Cabinet; 11 ministers and three deputy ministers had declared their intention to resign in response to Mbeki’s announced departure, four of whom, including the Minister of Finance, Trevor Manuel, were subsequently reappointed to their former post. Among notable changes was the appointment of Barbara Hogan as Minister of Health, in place of Mantombazana Tshabalala-Msimang (who became Minister in the Presidency in the new administration). Motlanthe was to hold office for the remainder of Mbeki’s second five-year term of office.
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